Writer touts poverty's cure

What? Wealth by not pursuing it? Wealth by not having the government give it to you? Wealth by indirect means?

In The Augusta Chronicle on Jan. 5, this great wisdom might be missed in Cal Thomas’ column: “The cure for most poverty: stay in school, get married before having children and stay married, work hard, save and invest.” Thomas calls it “old weaponry.” Ponder, folks. Only the last directive has anything to do with money – that is, as with happiness, avoiding poverty and accumulating wealth (at least having a solid income, paying the bills and having a little for recreation), is found without directly trying to achieve it!

Thomas’ “old weaponry” approach is old – about 3,400 years, from Moses. God’s instructions and commandments are good for life? For something other than angering liberals, progressives and atheists? For producing happiness? For being able to have economic soundness? Really?

So, is there another moral system that has brought individuals, families, societies and nations from poverty into wealth? What nation, other than the United States and those of the West, has achieved great wealth for all its members who are willing to make the commitment? All that from simple, but infinitely powerful, morals.

Since we have officially abandoned what our Founding Fathers believed as a society and as a nation, so goes our economic prosperity. Going, going, almost gone. God help us by emblazoning those morals into our lives.

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Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth. Go sell all you have, give the money to the poor and come follow me. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. THESE are the life lesson to true wealth taught by Jesus, the Christ. He never said one single word that extolled the accumulation of wealth. America's greed, lack of charity and ethics is what is leading to the destruction of this country, nothing else. The rich get richer and the middle class and poor get poorer. The worst thing about this whole thing is the middle class blames the poor, and backs the rich, while the rich laugh at you...all the way to the bank.

America is the most generous nation that has ever existed. We sent our sons at daughters over seas in war not to gain spoils and Rich's but to liberate at the expense of our blood and treasury. We have gone in times of calamities and peril to aid those in need. Our citizens volunteer because of love of God or country to provide health care where there is none, improve water supplies, provide immunizations and provide education. At the end of World War II we lifted our enemies instead of humiliating them. The rich have created opportunities beyond belief. There is a book called the millionaires amount us about average people who have become very wealthy. Home Depot created over 1000 millionaires. Where were Bill Gates, Ophra Winfrey, Warren Buffet etc 50 years ago? There is great opportunity and you can grasp it or sit on your butt and moan your fate. The choice is yours!

it's a cure for poverty
not a recipe for riches
and your selective quotes... the bible shouldn't be abused like that
by someone who professes Christianity
liberals have ruined public schools by teaching victimhood
teach a person how to work hard and get self-control
and the student gets a job and her children act like her
and no longer needs government
teach a person how to be a victim
and the government gets to organize a bureaucracy around that victim for the victim's life and the victim's children's lives
big government... it really is a bad thing

Christ was speaking to an individual who was filled with pride. The young man bragged of his virtuous life and topped it off with what must I do yo be saved. Emphasis on the "I ". Christ points out the one thing the young man could not do! The scene was not lost on the disciples, they ask "who can be saved " Jesus answer. "With God all things are possible ". Wealth brought pride because wealth was considered a sign of Gods blessing. May coperhead likes where Christ says " you will always have the poor ".

What Cal Thomas said has been proven time and time again by sociological studies. These precepts work. Think about the effect of doing the opposite -- drop out of school, have a child out of wedlock, etc. etc. Now imagine our country if everyone followed those simple guidelines!

Once again, GAC has no idea what he/she is talking about!! But that's nothing new.

Maybe you should learn the difference in advice and commands, GAC!! Yes, if you have riches, you have the ability to surround yourself with all the little pleasures of life. This makes it very hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, because during this life you will have many DISTRACTIONS. This does not mean that you are DEFINATELY going to hell, if you're rich!! If you are a responsible person, well capable of having riches and ALSO keeping focused on God, you will be fine!! As long as those riches are not ill-gotten gains!! You work and earn your riches, you enjoy them!!

That's like those that misinterpret Paul's teacing "It is better to marry, than to burn." I've actually heard people say this means it's better to marry, than to burn in hell. That's not what it's talking about. Paul is talking about him choosing to not marry, because his focus is on teaching Christ's truth. When you get married, you MUST focus on the wife and children, therefore taking time from your ministry. So he chooses to not marry as to avoid distractions. When you're single, you have nobody to worry about, beside yourself. You may then focus completely on your ministry.

But, he tells others that it's better to marry, than Burn. That means to burn with PASSION!! A "burning desire" towards a woman!! If you can't control that burning passion, it's better to marry.

The Bible is actually quite simple, if it weren't for people like GAC, confusing people ABOUT the Bible!! There are some scriptures that are commandments, and some are ADVICE!! If you follow the advice, you WILL be better off, but that's on you!!

And what made the Home Depot millionaires? Luck. Right place, right time, nothing else. They worked no harder than anyone else. It hit NASDAQ in 1981 at $12 a share and at the 10 year anniversary they were worth 17,000% more than they were on the first day of trading. At 20 years it was a 100,000% return. Workers at Home Depot now aren't going to be millionaires no matter how long they work there. Avg. salaries for cashiers and associates are in the $8-$9 an hour range and even avg. salaries for dept. managers and Supervisors are only in the $15 an hour range (Glass Door). Non livable wages to maybe barely livable for a dept. manager. Evidently poverty's cure is to be very lucky, or be a horrible CEO and get $210 million for getting fired from Home Depot.

This latest post by GAC shows that he has absolutely no ability and/or desire to research and gather facts and perhaps should be ignored except for humor or pity. To say the US is not charity looses all credibility on any topic because of ignorance (not stupidity which means an inability to learn). I think he could learn if he would do some research but appears not to.

If one follows the path of graduating from high school, getting a job, getting married, and then having children one will have a 90% plus chance of not being in poverty. This statistic is true for blacks and whites. The poverty rate for those who follow that sequence is in the single digits. It's all about life's choices and cannot be blamed on someone else. You are responsible for you.

Bod, luck is when hard work meets opportunity. The people working at Home Depot decided to invest some of their money in HD rather than blowing it on drinking, cars, lottery tickets or throwing it away for instant gratification. I bet there are some people who didn't take the advantage that the millionaires did and are still working as they were.

As far as income inequality goes, why should someone who is untrained and poorly educated make the same as someone with rare skills and works 70+ hours a week? Which one is more valuable to the company or organization?

If people talk to the wealthy they will find that the wealthy have all their lives considered the 40 hour work week to be for losers. They have worked 60 hours, 80 hours and more per week for years to get what they have. Sometimes two and three jobs. They did not lean on the shovel handle complaining and looking at their watch to see how long it was to break time or quitting time.
The wealthy did everything ethically and legally possible to reach their written goals.

Talk to the people who are not advancing toward anything but the minimum and you will find no written goals, working only one job, and doing nothing to improve their skills or value to an employer or themselves. They are in the rut they put themselves in and doing little if anything to get out. A rut is nothing more than a grave with no ends.

Bod, luck is when hard work meets opportunity. The people working at Home Depot decided to invest some of their money in HD rather than blowing it on drinking, cars, lottery tickets or throwing it away for instant gratification. I bet there are some people who didn't take the advantage that the millionaires did and are still working as they were.

As far as income inequality goes, why should someone who is untrained and poorly educated make the same as someone with rare skills and works 70+ hours a week? Which one is more valuable to the company or organization?

If people talk to the wealthy they will find that the wealthy have all their lives considered the 40 hour work week to be for losers. They have worked 60 hours, 80 hours and more per week for years to get what they have. Sometimes two and three jobs. They did not lean on the shovel handle complaining and looking at their watch to see how long it was to break time or quitting time.
The wealthy did everything ethically and legally possible to reach their written goals.

Talk to the people who are not advancing toward anything but the minimum and you will find no written goals, working only one job, and doing nothing to improve their skills or value to an employer or themselves. They are in the rut they put themselves in and doing little if anything to get out. A rut is nothing more than a grave with no ends.

Income equality without output equality is the dream of socialists. Why they think it's fair to get equal outcome without equal input boggles the mind. And for the President to lecture about income equality as soon as he returned from his multi-million dollar vacation is the epitome of hypocrisy.

Gate was lucky, Ophra was lucky, Tiger Woods is lucky, even Obama is lucky , no smarts, no taking advantage of opertunity, they just sat on their butts and the cash rolled in. No practice, no investing, just dumb luck, I get it!

You don't expect these wealth envy type folks to look within themselves for the problem do you? They would have to admit that the reason for their underachievement is staring back at them in the mirror.

I found this which seems a fair synopsis:
"Jesus saw wealth as a gift from God to be used in His service (Matthew 25:14-30). Those who have been blessed with wealth must share generously with the poor (Matthew 25:31-46), and avoid the sins of arrogance (1 Timothy 6:17-19), dishonesty (Exodus 20:15, Mark 10:19, Luke 3:12-14) and greed (Luke 12:13-21).
Those of us who are blessed with wealth beyond our need have a responsibility to share generously with the less fortunate. We should view our wealth as a gift from God, entrusted to us, to carry out His work on earth.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (NIV, 1 John 3:17)

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (NIV, 1 Timothy 6:17-19)" End of quote.
So it isn't about wealth as bad-just the contrary a blessing that a "christian" would feel "convicted" to "share" the "blessing". Don't be arrogant about your blessing and share your good fortune. Which my wife and I do (it's both our nature to help and share)-but I do not want govt taking away my blessing in sharing my wealth. Taking from someone, no matter the wealth, is stealing.
Now there are plenty of arrogant, stingy, greedy wealthy too-but I think they are all in the office of the president or Congress-hee,hee,hee,hee.
Hey here is a novel idea-what if all the wealthy suddenly believed and followed this philosophy-I wonder how much poverty could be addressed by personal deed vs govt intrusion?

Ya'll are funny....be what you want, do what you want, judge whomever you want...God is the final judge, and I'm not worried about my fate, HE is my God, not wealth or the accumulation of it. See ya....wouldn't wanta be ya.

GACopperhead if you are against judging people how do you know God will condemn us, seems like your judgement on us. Interesting logic , but then again most liberals really don't understand logic, it is some what like facts!

There is no virtue in poverty or wealth, how we react in a situation determines if we have virtue. The lady with the widow's mite was virtuous on poverty, Joseph of Aramathia (spelling) was virtuous in wealth as was the Centurion.

If he admits his sin he will be forgiven. Car hit the nail-Christ wasn't that interested in a persons plot in life-poor, wealthy or slave, but their eternal soul. Remember when he healed the paralytic at Capernum-he healed him and forgave him of his sins. He was questioned over his authority to forgive sins. "For which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

I don't see anything wrong with what GA-C said, he has some valid points.

True wealth can't be measured in money- you can have all the money in the world, but true wealth is faith, family, friends, children, health- the things that don't have a monetary value but are priceless.

"Wealth" is one of those words which can have different things to different people as to the context it is being used. A person can be poor monetarily yet be wealthy in spirit and relationship with God. A person can be in the bottom 20% economically and because they have good health and a solid family, they feel wealthy.

The thing about monetary wealth it gives a person options which they would not have otherwise as to where they live, the car they drive, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the school their children attend, the number and locations of vacations they take, the amount of money they can give to church and charities, and the list can go on and on.

Without monetary wealth a person is limited as to the options they have and the vast majority of the time they are not monetarily wealthy because of the options, good and bad, they made daily throughout their life. That is one advantage children of the monetary wealthy have is they first hand knowledge as to what money can do and how one has to work hard to get it. Of course, I'm not talking about trust fund babies like the Kennedys.

The things Corgimom talks about can be had with or with out monetary wealth. I believe Romney is blessed with both kinds of wealth as one example, Many of the Hollywierd rich have monitary blessings but lack spiritual blessings, such as those that bed each other while still married to other people and flaunt their adulterous pregnancies.

by stealing money from those that earn it,
because sooner later those paying for the free ride
run out of $$$$, or say why work to give it away.
Or migrate to places where work is considered honorable.

Government "Assistance" was never meant to be a way of life for generations.

It's like a drowning person-they will take you down with them with a hand out. Well known the panic will drown both of you. Help them to help themselves with a life preserver and teach them how to swim- no more drowning man. Having to save this person every time they drown is idiotic. Fools delight. Teach them to swim-perhaps they will find a pearl but they could be eaten by a shark too-we are always swimming with sharks.

I have read "You can not make the weak strong by weakening the strong, the ignorant wise by making the wise ignorant, you can not make poor wealthy by making the wealthy poor"! , but the liberals are still trying!